598 



PUBLIC DOCUMENTS. 



world began ! It has been consecrated by the blood 

 of our fathers, by the glories of the past, and by the 

 hopes of the future. The Union has already made us 

 the most prosperous, and ere long will, if preserved, 

 render us the most powerful nation on the face of the 

 earth. In every foreign region of the globe the title 

 of American citizen is held in the highest respect, and, 

 when pronounced in a foreign land, it causes the hearts 

 of our countrymen to swell with honest pride. Surely 

 when we reach the brink of the yawning abyss, we 

 shall recoil with horror from the last fatal plunge. By 

 such a dread catastrophe the hopes of the friends of 

 freedom throughout the world would be destroyed, 

 and a long night of leaden despotism would enshroud 

 the nations. Our example for more than eighty years 

 would not only be lost, but it would be quoted as a 

 conclusive proof that man is unfit for self-government. 



It is not every wrong nay, it is not every grievous 

 wrong which can justify a resort to such a fearful al- 

 ternative. This ought to be the last desperate remedy 

 of a despairing people, after every other constitutional 

 means of conciliation had been exhausted. We should 

 reflect that under this free Government there is an in- 

 cessant ebb and flow in public opinion. The slavery 

 question, like everything human, will have its day. I 

 firmly believe that it has already reached and passed 

 the culminating point. But if, in the midst of the ex- 

 isting excitement, the Union shall perish, the evil may 

 then become irreparable. Congress can contribute 

 much to avert it by proposing and recommending to 

 the Legislatures of the several States the remedy for 

 existing evils, which the Constitution has itself pro- 

 vided for its own preservation. This has been tried 

 at different critical periods of our history, and always 

 with eminent success. It is to be found in the fifth 

 article providing for its own amendment. Under this 

 article amendments have been proposed by two-thirds 

 of both Houses of Congress, and have been "ratified 

 by the Legislatures of three-fourths of the several 

 States," and have consequently become parts of the 

 Constitution. To this process the country is indebted 

 for the clause prohibiting Congress from passing any 

 law respecting an establishment of religion, or abridg- 

 ing the freedom of speech, or of the press, or of the 

 right of petition. To this we are also indebted for the 

 bill of rights, which secures the people against any 

 abuse of power by the Federal Government. Such 

 were the apprehensions justly entertained by the 

 friends of State rights at that period as to have ren- 

 dered it extremely doubtful whether the Constitution 

 could have long survived without these amendments. 



Again, the Constitution was amended by the same 

 process after the election of President Jefferson by the 

 House of Representatives, in February, 1803. This 

 amendment was rendered necessary to prevent a re- 

 currence of the dangers which had seriously threat- 

 ened the existence of the Government during the 

 pendency of that election. The article for its own 

 amendment was intended to secure the amicable ad- 

 justment of conflicting constitutional questions like 

 the present, which might arise between the Govern- 

 ments of the States and that of the United States. 

 This appears from contemporaneous history. In this 

 connection, I shall merely call attention to a few sen- 

 tences in Mr. Madison's justly celebrated report, in 

 1799, to the Legislature of Virginia. In this he ably 

 and conclusively defended the resolutions of the pre- 

 ceding Legislature against the strictures of several 

 other State Legislatures. These were mainly founded 

 upon the protest of the Virginia Legislature against 

 the " alien and sedition acts," as " palpable and alarm- 

 ing infractions of the Constitution." In pointing out 

 the peaceful and constitutional remedies and he re- 

 ferred to none other to which the States were au- 

 thorized to resort on such occasions, he concludes by 

 saying, "that the Legislatures of the States might 

 have made a direct representation to Congress with a 

 view to obtain a rescinding of the two offensive acts ; 

 or they might have represented to their respective 

 Senators in Congress their wish that two-thirds there- 

 of would propose an explanatory amendment to the 



Constitution ; or two thirds of themselves, if such had 

 been their option, might, by an application to Congress, 

 have obtained a convention for the same object." 



This is the very course which I earnestly recom- 

 mend in order to obtain an " explanatory amendment" 

 of the Constitution on the subject of slavery. This 

 might originate with Congress or the State Legisla- 

 tures, as may be deemed most advisable to attain the 

 object. 



The explanatory amendment might be confined to 

 the final settlement of the true construction of the 

 Constitution on three special points : 



1. An express recognition of the right of property 

 in slaves in the States where it now exists or may 

 hereafter exist. 



2. The duty of protecting this right in all the com- 

 mon territories throughout their territorial existence, 

 and until they shall be admitted us States into the 

 Union, with or without slavery, as their constitutions 

 may prescribe. 



3. A like recognition of the right of the master to 

 have his slave, who has escaped from one State to 

 another, restored and " delivered np " to him, and of 

 the validity of the fugitive slave law enacted for this 

 purpose, together with a declaration that all State 

 laws impairing or defeating this right are violations of 

 the Constitution, and are consequently null and void. 



It niay be objected that this construction of the 

 Constitution has already been settled by the Supreme 

 Court of the United States, and what more ought to be 

 required ? The answer is, that a very large proportion 

 of the people of the United States still contest the cor- 

 rectness of this decision, and never will cease from 

 agitation and admit its binding force until clearly es- 

 tablished by the people of the several States in their 

 sovereign character. Such an explanatory amend- 

 ment would, it is believed, forever terminate the ex- 

 isting dissensions and restore peace and harmony 

 among the States. 



It ought not to be doubted that such an appeal to 

 the arbitrament established by the Constitution itself, 

 would be received with favor by all the States of the 

 Confederacy. In any event it ought to be tried in a 

 spirit of conciliation before any of these States shall 

 separate themselves from the Union. 



When I entered upon the duties of the Presidential 

 office, the aspect neither of our foreign nor domestic 

 affairs was at all satisfactory. We were involved in 

 dangerous complications with several nations, and two 

 of our territories were in a state of revolution against 

 the Government. A restoration of the African slave 

 trade had numerous and powerful advocates. Unlaw- 

 ful military expeditions were countenanced by many 

 of our citizens, and were suffered, in defiance of the 

 efforts of the Government, to escape from our shores, 

 for the purpose of making war upon the unoffending 

 people of neighboring Republics with whom we were 

 at peace. In addition to these and other difficulties, 

 we experienced a revulsion in monetary affairs soon 

 after my advent to power, of unexampled severity and 

 of ruinous consequences to all the great interests of 

 the country. When we take a retrospect of what was 

 then our condition, and contrast this with its material 

 prosperity at the time of the late Presidential election, 

 we have abundant reason to return our grateful thanks 

 to that merciful Providence which has never forsaken 

 us as a nation in all our past trials. 



The remaining portion of this Message, re- 

 ferring to the foreign relations of the country, 

 and containing nothing of interest touching the 

 events of the year 1861, is omitte 



MESSAGE on the condition ofthecountry transmit* 

 ted to 'both branches of the National Legislature 

 on January 8th, 1861, by President Buchanan. 

 To the Senate and House of Representatives : 



At the opening of your present session I called your 

 attention to the dangers which threatened the exist- 

 ence of the Union. I expressed my opinion freely con- 



